More and more, as buildings age, it has become increasingly desirable to replace their doors. However, in the vast majority of cases, the frame is the most difficult component to remove and replace. With wood construction, there is normally a decorative outer casing that hides the juncture between the wall material (e.g., sheetrock or plaster) and the wooden frame. The frame itself is typically shimmed with wedges to achieve a proper position within the roughly assembled underframing. Any door frame stops must also be separated from the frame, unless the stops may have been machined or milled integral to the frame, commonly done with exterior doors for added weatherproofing and security. In most cases the removal and replacement of so many wood components, which may be an important part of the decorative or historic quality of the building, is a serious consideration before contemplating replacement. Metal frames, which are frequently used in commercial buildings, are often anchored to concrete construction, making their removal and replacement very difficult, and involves many operations including demolition and removal, masonry, new frame installation and the repainting of both walls and frames. The fitting of new frames in any type of construction to achieve true and plumb openings, is a task which requires great skill and is extremely costly. Adding to the complexity is the fact that these frames may have originated from a different manufacturer, even in the same building. The minor differences in the actual dimensions of the original doors, even those which have been built to the same nominal size makes the practical replacement of the doors dependent on the actual size of each door as well as the condition of each frame that requires a door replacement. To properly fit a door in this manner requires accurate measurements of frame width and height, as well as other measurements to determine whether the frame is skewed or out of planar flatness and whether the frame corners are square to each other and whether the frame members have remained straight over years of use. Building settling problems and masonry failures add to the difficulty of obtaining a complete dimensional analysis on a frame-by frame basis. The preparation of new, properly fitted replacement doors to these specifications on a door-by-door basis may be cost-prohibitive. Where metal doors, in particular, require replacement, it becomes especially desirable to find a means of utilizing mass-produced doors which feature ease of adjustment to their final operating positions, replicating the original clearances of the openings and their ability to provide or exceed their original performance specifications as well as to restore safety and extended life to the building.
This inventor's longitudinally-extending continuous hinges, such as those for example shown in my U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,092,870; 3,402,422; 4,976,008; 4,996,739; 4,999,878; 4,999,879; 4,999.880; 5,001,810; 5,201,902; 5,778,491; 5,991,975; 6,732,409, and co-pending allowed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/628,624 (to be issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,650,670 on Jan. 26, 2010); the disclosures all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties, and particularly those designed for the simple adjustment of a door in the horizontal and vertical reference plane, allows door replacement with a new door of virtually any material, and accomplished with ease and precision. These continuous hinges extend for substantially the entire height of the door. This procedure is facilitated by using a slightly undersize door. A new, closer fit at the top or header can partially be accommodated by a new threshold, readily obtainable in different thicknesses. Lockside clearances may similarly be adjusted as desired, with any door gap on the opposing hinge side covered by the continuous hinge itself.
While both metal and wood doors are readily mounted and adjusted with these hinges, some other prior hinges have relied on either sliding hinge components or slotted screw holes to allow for simple door positioning. An improved system and method are desired for providing field adjustability when installing doors as particularly applicable without limitation in retrofit or replacement door installations while utilizing an existing door frame.